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53% of non-fatal workplace accidents are caused by slips, trips and falls. Providing lone workers with a Man Down Safety device can help organisations safeguard their staff and meet legal duty of care obligations.

tracking app for employees A Man Down alarm will send an alert to a live monitor if the user has fallen or is unable to get up. The monitor can then contact the worker’s trusted contacts or the emergency services.





Detection

Typically, Man Down safety technology detects movement or a lack of it using built-in sensors. These may include an accelerometer (to monitor tilt) and/or a motion sensor that looks for vibrations. The device may also have a 'pre-alert' feature that will activate if the worker hasn't moved after a set period of time. This gives the worker a chance to check in and let their supervisor know they are okay (avoiding false alarms).

If the device senses no movement after this, it will automatically raise a Man Down alert. Depending on the solution, this alert can be sent directly to a user's trusted contact or to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). An ARC is a purpose built centre that receives and processes alarms from safety devices. They will then attempt to contact the user, if necessary, and/or work with emergency services as appropriate.

As well as being able to raise an alert, Man Down solutions can also notify responders of the exact location where the worker is. This allows them to get help to the worker as quickly as possible, and reduces stress on employees who can't reach out to colleagues for help themselves. This is particularly important for workers who travel to remote sites such as client homes or construction zones and could benefit from near-immediate assistance if they become incapacitated.

Countdown Timer

The countdown timer is a useful feature for high-risk environments or situations in which workers may not be able to call for help on their own. The worker’s radio will monitor for movement or inactivity over a specific period of time and will automatically trigger an alarm if no activity is detected. This feature can be adjusted to a suitable time period from three minutes to one hour by the user, and allows the worker to press a key to revert the device back to its normal operating state.

The internal sensors in our lone work safety devices also include what we call a ‘tilt switch’ function, which is used to detect falls or sudden impact events. If the device is tilted over a specified angle, the radio will activate an internal countdown timer for approximately ten seconds (the pre-alarm can be cancelled if the worker presses their red help button).

Once the counting down timer expires, a Man Down alarm will be sent to dispatch and the lone worker will receive an alert in their headset. The alert will display the worker’s location, which can be viewed by the dispatcher and remote observers in real-time if wireless connectivity is enabled. This allows dispatch to send support to the worker as quickly as possible, ensuring their safety and helping them meet their duty of care.

False Alarms

Lone workers can be exposed to a wide range of risk factors and hazards. Although training can help to minimise the chances of them falling, it’s not possible for them to avoid accidents altogether. In situations where a fall or impact occurs, Man Down ensures that someone will be alerted to the situation immediately.

Different systems work in a variety of ways, but typically they work by detecting movement or inactivity. This can include a sudden impact, a long period of no motion or a change in the angle at which a device is positioned. Once an alert is received, the monitoring team follows the escalation procedure and dispatches assistance to the device user’s location.

This is an important safety feature to have for lone workers in the event of a health incident, accident or even a natural disaster. The ability to get immediate help means that any potential loss of life is reduced.

The feature can also be configured to align with the escalation procedures and work team environments of individual organisations. For example, some lone workers might only need to press the 'Locate' button on their radio to have an emergency contact call out for them, while others may need to activate the feature using a function key or by text message. A key to the effectiveness of any safety feature is making sure that it is always turned on and that employees know how to use it in an emergency.

Training

While the most important part of a Man Down Safety feature is the actual system itself, it's also critical that lone workers are properly trained in how to use it. This means knowing how to activate and deactivate the feature, and understanding how different audio tones and alarms will be triggered by each action. Additionally, a good training program will teach users how to use the tilt timer to their advantage, for example ensuring that the radio is in an upright position before pressing any buttons that would set off the tilt timer.

Falls from height continue to be the biggest cause of workplace fatalities, so having a Man Down alarm that can help ensure someone will be alerted as soon as possible is invaluable. The best devices also offer a range of additional features that can prevent incidents, such as the Bodytrak smart safety solution which monitors core body temperature, physiological strain index and heart rate. It then uses machine learning to provide the user and supervisor with critical alerts when safe thresholds are exceeded.

Some devices will also send digital alerts to a designated contact, often an emergency response service. This allows you to fulfil your obligations under the Work at Height regulations and the Health and Safety at Work Act, which state that employers are responsible for providing assistance or medical attention to any employee who has fallen at work.